Nocturnal Admissions
by ameristar
Summary: Some secrets can't be held forever. Made into a series.
1. With Feeling

There were few moments lately that Jane Rizzoli could remember that weren't interrupted by death. It didn't matter where she was-at a bar, on the street, driving to her parents' house-all it took was one moment of silence, and it was instantly interrupted by a phone call. Bad news wasn't something that just happened to Jane, it was the one remaining constant in her life. That's why, as she lay haphazardly on her living room couch, she half expected the knock on the door.

"Give me a minute!" She shouted tiredly from the couch. Her walk was slow and tired-she had been working on a tough case, and didn't have a single strong suspect. The window was closing on finding the murderer, and it had been wearing on her for the past 48 hours. What Rizzoli didn't expect to find was Maura Isles, fraught with tears, on the other end of the doorway. Her facial expression was quick to change.

"Jesus, Maura! What's wrong?" She opened the door wide as she gently led the grief stricken woman into her apartment.

"I just don't know what I did wrong!" Maura cried, rubbing at her mascara smeared cheeks. She looked down at her hands. "I don't know why I chose to wear non-waterproof mascara." She choked out through tears. Jane shushed her and took her to the couch, rubbing small circles on her back.

"It's okay, Maura. Just tell me what happened." Maura took a deep breath, sniffed back her tears, and looked dead into Jane's eyes.

"I'm not normal, okay? I try to date these people-these men-and all it turns into is a disaster. I say the wrong things, I act the wrong way... it's like there's-there's this script that I should be reading from, but nobody told me what's on it and-" Jane interrupted her.

"Maura, listen. Most guys, they don't like to deal with women who are more interesting than them, and Maura? You're amazing. Don't let yourself feel down because some random prick doesn't understand you." Jane smiled slightly, and ran a hand through Maura's perfectly waved hair. The Medical Examiner looked up, eyes searching for truth, before she looked back down at her hands again. Jane winced, she'd said too much. Things got quiet between them-both afraid to say anything that would make things more awkward. Finally, Maura broke the silence.

"You really think I'm amazing?" She said quietly. Jane couldn't help but smile a little.

"Positively." She said without hesitation. Maura's lips strained not to smile, but it wasn't before long that the muscles gave way and her smile was spread across her face. She looked up into Jane's soft eyes, the way her face was full of concern and what looked like love, and felt her heart palpitate in her chest. She was sure the endorphins were beginning to course through her veins, and it would only be a minute before her skin would prickle with cutis anserina-goosebumps.

"How embarrassing." She mumbled to herself.

"Hmm?" Jane replied, as she got up to get wine from the kitchen.

"Oh Jane," Maura started, "I've really already had too much to drink." Jane laughed, and poured two glasses anyway.

"Oh this isn't just for you," Jane said amused, "I need a drink, and I'm sure as hell not drinking alone." Maura relented, and took the glass Jane offered.

"Come with me, to the bedroom." Jane said without a hint of sexual intention, but a betraying chill ran up the doctor's spine anyway, just at the idea. Perhaps it had been the moment, or the easy way Jane wore tank tops, but Maura's mind kept going to places she didn't want them to go. She took a long sip of her wine, and followed.

Jane placed her wine on the side table without a coaster, and laid back on the bed, hands over her eyes from exhaustion. Maura bit her tongue at the thought of saying something, and chose to sit precariously at the end of the bed. Jane lifted her hands and looked at Maura's stiff form.

"What's gotten into you tonight?" She drawled tiredly. It wasn't customary for Maura to act like this, so distant.

"Jane... I don't know quite how to put this." Maura said slowly, drinking another hearty swig of wine before continuing.

"Well out with it then." Jane said cautiously. She fought back feelings that always surfaced, a fear that lingered around women she was close to.

"When I'm around you, I feel something I don't feel with other people." Maura heard Jane take a shaky breath, and continued. "The signs are all there, the palpitations, the increased heart rate, the feelings of euphoria-Jane, I'm quite sure I'm in love with you." And there it was. She'd said it. She turned her head to look at Jane, who went from very tired, to very awake, in a span of about ten seconds. She looked flabbergasted, and her mouth opened repeatedly with what appeared to be unformed words, and then closed just as abruptly.

"I understand if you don't feel the same way." Maura countered, taking a deep breath before standing.

"Maura, wait." She stopped mid step in her Milano Blahnik heels and waited.

"I feel the same way." Maura felt as if the floor had dropped from under her, and her shouldered dropped as she physically felt the weight of her admission come off her shoulders. She turned slowly, and smiled at Jane a smile of pure joy. Jane laughed lightly, and waved for the gorgeous woman at her bed side to come to her. Maura happily complied, kicking off the expensive heels to get onto Jane's king size bed, the one bit of luxury that Jane ever allowed herself to have. Jane sat up higher in her bed and reached out to take her hand, leading her closer. She cupped a hand under Maura's chin, and gently placed her lips upon Maura's red stained lips.

In that moment, Jane's stomach tightened with both fear and arousal. She was afraid of what this meant for her, because this wasn't some one night thing she'd come to regret later-this was the person she was meant to spend the rest of her life with. Maura deepened the kiss, and began to pull Jane atop her, which firey waves of arousal through Jane's lower half. It began to dawn on her that the woman she was kissing intended to make love to her, and the idea sent shock waves through her mind with it's significance.

As their tongues intermingled in each others' mouths, Jane reached down to take away the clothing that was keeping their skin from touching. She broke the kiss to take her top off, while Maura stared at her hungrily from the bed. Jane could only smile at her as she undid her bra and pants, leaving her only in her underwear.

"Unzip my dress." Maura said breathily, green eyes completely dilated with deep arousal.

"Yes ma'am." Jane said, and quickly complied, pulling the dress off her like it was on fire. Finally she leaned forward and unclasped her newfound lover's bra, and at once she felt the firey hot skin of the woman she was in love with. They returned to their kiss, this time with more aplomb than before, and out of pure instinctual need, Jane slid her thigh up to Maura's cloth covered core, and began to steadily thrust her lower body onto the other woman's. Maura broke the kiss to moan in unadulterated lust, and began to give way to Jane's rhythm, finding some solace for her burning need in friction. Maura quietly wished she knew who had first discovered friction so she could thank them personally. Jane kissed at Maura's neck, gently sucking on the tender flesh, before rubbing her tongue over it.

"Oh." Maura whispered at the sensation. She placed her hands on the edge of Jane's boy shorts and began to indicate that she wanted them to be taken off. Jane lifted off her body and began hurriedly pulling them off, and then proceeded to pull off Maura's expensive (and possibly ruined) lace undergarment. Before Jane could properly form a sentence at seeing Maura Isles' amazing tan body laying nude before her, Maura lifted up on her arms and captured one of Jane's nipples in her mouth.

"Jesus." Jane hissed, her hands immediately flying up to take two hand full of Isles' blonde locks. Maura could feel the slickness on her thigh and increased pressure, which despite her lack of knowledge on sex with a woman, proved to be a very good idea once implemented.

The passion between them was almost paralyzing in intensity, and despite the inexperience on the parts of both women, they moved in tandem as if they'd been doing it forever.

"I love you." Maura whispered as she leaned back from kissing and marking Jane's flesh.

"I love you too, Maura." Jane said, as she placed a hand on Maura's hot core. Maura jumped at the contact, her swollen flesh reacting immediately to the administrations of Jane's fingertips. Jane swept her fingers slowly over Maura's lips, feeling the moisture gather on her fingers, and began searching for what she knew would bring her lover release. Once she found what she was looking for, she began to press harder, and rub in a constant motion against Maura's tender flesh.

Not to be outdone, Maura began to gyrate against Jane, her thigh grinding slickly against the surface of Jane's center. The grunts began to escalate between them, reaching a crescendo of euphoria before one of them began to crumble. Maura, predictably, was the first to begin to stumble into orgasm, and as Jane grew the courage to plunge her fingers into Maura's pussy, she began to keen loudly as she fell into her orgasm. Maura's body bucked against Jane as she climaxed, and Jane breathed heavily in response as she rode it out, kissing at Maura's breasts and neck. Jane's need was exponentially rising as every passing second and in desperation, she began to wildly rub herself on Maura's thigh. Maura quickly grabbed Jane by the hips, and out of pure reckless abandon, leaned forward and began to suck and nip at the apex of Jane's thighs.

"Oh fuck." Was Jane's only reply. Maura moved on pure desire, and went straight for the point she knew would do most good. Jane quickly became incoherent, grasping at the bed covers while she quickly built in orgasm. It didn't take long for the precipice Jane was teetering on to fall from beneath her. She came loudly, shuddering in pure pleasure at what had been a long, hard release, built up over many years.

Jane fell over on the side of the bed, completely spent. She reached over quickly to turn out the light. Both Jane and Maura could do nothing but breathe heavily and stare at the ceiling, trying to regain some strength. Maura's hand slowly crossed over to take Jane's and they intertwined fingers in between each other's bodies.

"Can I touch you?" Jane asked quietly after a good few moments of heavy breathing.

"Yes." Jane scooted up to Maura, spooning their bodies together, hands still intertwined. With her free hand, she brushed back the hair from Isles neck, and placed a gentle kiss there.

"We should do this more often." Jane murmured before laying her head down, and falling quickly asleep. Maura smiled to herself quietly in the dark.


	2. Criminal Intent

Jane awoke to the pitter patter of feet on her wood floor. She fought the smile on her lips as she pretended to be asleep-Maura was trying to be discreet. She didn't worry that she might be abandoning her in the early hours of the morning; she knew that they had work that morning, and if Maura came to work wearing a crumpled dress from the day before, there would be looks, and winks, and obvious smirks. It was no real secret that the women held a torch for each other, but that didn't mean she wanted the whole precinct to know their business.

"Trying to ditch me?" Jane said, peeking one eye open and smirking. Maura jumped, nearly kicking one of her heels across the room.

"Oh Jane! I'm so sorry! It's just that I have work, and-" Jane laughed, interrupting Maura's rambling.

"It's fine Maura. Do what you need to do." Jane sat up in bed, still nude, and pushed her bed hair out of her face. "I need a shower...bad." Maura smiled at her, standing there looking just as rough, in a crumpled blue dress.

Jane continued, "Despite what you think, you look sexy as hell right now."

"Why thank you, but I don't feel that way." Maura replied, self consciously tugging at the bottom hem of the dress.

Later, when both of them had taken showers, and Maura took the time to actually wash and iron the dress, they looked somewhat acceptable. Jane offered for Maura to borrow some of the clothes in her closet, but as Maura looked over the various polyblends, and made little faces at everything she pulled out, Jane sighed and told her to forget it.

They both arrived to work an hour late, and made the effort to appear as if they hadn't ridden in the same car together, or had sex the night before at Jane's apartment.

"Rough night?" Korsak asked Jane as she walked in. Jane whipped her head around to look at him with a face of abject horror.

"What? No!" Korsak put his hands in the air, confused. When Jane realized he only was referring to the rough couple of days she had with her unsolved case, she felt her face turn beet red with embarrassment. Detective Frost however, was a lot less clueless.

"You're glowing." He said to her as she sat at her desk.

"You're imagining it." Jane replied with a huff. Frost sat back in his chair, a smile on his lips that indicated he knew more than she wanted him to know. He couldn't help himself.

"Dr. Isles is glowing too." He said, cheekily. Jane glared at him, eyes wide and menacing, and Frost quickly swallowed his smile, coughed, and looked down at his paper work. Korsak came to Jane, and threw a couple files onto her desk.

"Turns out the murderer has killed before." He said, grimly.

Maura was making the best effort she could to concentrate on her work. She looked at the lifeless face of the body below her, and sighed.

"I wonder who you were." She said to the corpse as she made the Y incision. There was no response.

"I bet you would tell me not to worry, that Jane wasn't going to chicken out at the last minute." She opened the incision, and began to work on taking out the organs. Her work was methodical, with perfect precision that took years of practice and a little bit of a savant's obsession to maintain.

"Talking to your bodies again?" Jane said quietly from across the room. Maura didn't jump this time, but still felt the cold chill run down her spine.

"They listen." She replied, softly. She began to stitch up the autopsy incision, feeling her body hum at the excitement she always felt when Jane was in the room. She looked over to Jane as she walked to the sink, pulling her gloves off and throwing them into the biohazard bin before washing her hands. Jane looked at her intently, eyes soft with care and a little worry behind them.

"You can talk to me." Jane said, as she walked up to her. Maura placed her hands on the edge of the sink, and breathed out slowly. Soon Jane was behind her, rubbing her back in little circles, just as she had the night before when she was trying to console her. Maura's skin tingled at the ministrations.

"You make me melt." Maura admitted quietly. Jane chuckled and ran her fingers through Isles' hair, brushing it back and laying a soft kiss on the back of her neck.

"The murderer has killed before." She said suddenly, all business. Maura sighed, sad that the little moment they shared was over, and replaced with work.

"The stranglings?" She said, turning around. Jane nodded, face emotionless. They both looked over to the young girl laying on the examination table. "She was so young." Maura replied, sadly.


	3. Don't Toast With An Empty Glass

Stacy knew better than to be roaming out after the street lights came on, but she had to. She'd lost her doll-her most favorite doll that her father had given her-and she couldn't find it anywhere. She checked the front yard, and the neighbor's yard, on hands and knees as if a large doll could have shrunk to the size of a pin. She didn't notice when the tall blonde man stepped up behind her.

"Looking for this?" Came a voice, strong and confident from behind her. She looked up-someone had found Samantha!

"Thanks mister!" Stacy screamed, grabbing the doll from his hands and giving it a big squeeze. The man stood there, face broken with a wide, kind smile.

"Where's my reward?" He said, patiently. Stacy's face showed confusion.

"Reward?" She replied. The man nodded his head, and held his hand out.

"I don't have any money." She replied, ashamed. His face changed to a look of concern, and then as if he thought of an idea, it changed to a look of curious delight.

"Want to see something?" He said with a reassuring smile.

"Sick bastard." Jane muttered to herself. The little girl lay at her feet, eyes open with a deathly haze of grey covering the irises. Jane crouched, wishing she could close the little girl's eyes-but she couldn't touch the body, as to not hamper with any possible DNA evidence that could be found. The tapping of heels came up behind her as Maura walked over to the body. Maura made a tisking noise with her mouth, the only work appropriate reaction to finding a child's lifeless body laying behind a dumpster. Maura crouched along side Jane, and lifted the child's neck with her gloved hands.

"Lacerations are indicative of a struggle," Maura said gravely. She pointed to the strange bruises on her neck. "See those marks?" She said, "Looks like someone used a ligature."

"Like our Jane Doe." Jane said sadly. Maura looked at her, frowning.

"It appears so." Maura stood, motioning to the other officers to have the coroner bag the body, and put out her hand so Jane could stand. As they walked back to their respective cars, Maura put her hand on Jane's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Maura said worriedly to the Homicide Detective. Jane blinked a few times, a stray tear fell onto her cheek.

"It's hard, you know, to pretend this is just work, and not take it personal." Maura tried to smile reassuringly, and placed her hand on Jane's cheek.

"I know," Isles replied, "but we have to."

Jane sat alone, staring at a television that wasn't turned on. Joe Friday jumped on her lap, licking her hands and nuzzling against her thigh, and automatically Jane began to run her fingers through his fur, focusing on the texture instead of what was playing over and over in her mind. Out there, somewhere, was a man murdering innocent little girls and getting away with it. Jane hissed at the thought and turned her head away. There were times, times like these, that she hated her job more than anything in the world. She sat there numbly for a few more minutes before her cellphone on the coffee table began to ring. Despite her mood, when the death march began to play (Maura's ringtone), she smiled slightly to herself.

"Rizzoli." Jane answered. She heard a light laugh on the other line.

"You don't have to answer your phone like that when you know it's me." Maura said. Jane laughed a little, shaking negative thoughts out of her head by force.

"Sorry. It's habit." She said, running her hand once again over Joe Friday's scruffy coat.

"I wanted to know if you would like to have dinner with me at a restaurant tonight. Discuss some things." Maura sounded nervous, which caught Jane's attention.

"Of course. As long as dinner means beer and restaurant means the pub." Jane replied, coyly. She could practically hear Maura rolling her eyes.

"Alright. I'll be by in a couple minutes." Jane and Maura exchanged goodbyes and hung up. Jane leaned back on her couch and closed her eyes. Seeing Maura was always a good thing, she just wished that they didn't always have the looming shadow of death and gloom above them all the time. She wanted to hold Maura-it'd been a week since they first made love-and things were at a standstill; neither of them knowing what to say, or how to react to what had happened. Jane didn't regret it, but a part of her wished that they didn't have to pretend they were just friends everyday at work.

"Knock knock." Came Maura's voice from behind her door. Jane smiled, and lifted herself off the couch. The dog jumped down, skittering toward the front door with Jane. She unlocked the three (much needed) locks on her door, and held it wide for Maura to come in. Maura looked amazing from head to toe. She was wearing a jade green Kate Spade dress, hair in a rare updo, with silver Versace pumps. She held in her hand a small Prada handbag, once again a shimmery silver, that brought the whole look together. Jane looked Maura up and down, and then up and down again, and laughed.

"You look like the most beautiful Christmas tree I've ever seen." Jane replied as Maura walked into her apartment.

"Thank you?" Maura said with a laugh. She looked down at her feet, an embarrassed smile on her lips.

"Anyway, wow." Jane rambled, still in shock as to how gorgeous the woman in front of her looked at that moment. "For a pub?" She said, with a slight warning in her voice.

"About that..." Maura said nervously. "I made a reservation." Jane rolled her eyes, and closed the door behind Maura.

"I'm not dressed for that." Jane said irritatedly. Maura quickly cooed her reassurances. "I have a dress for you in my car." She said with a mischievous smile. Jane laughed at how typical that was, and threw up her hands.

"If I didn't love you..." She muttered, walking toward the bathroom. She turned to see Maura frozen in her spot, looking at Jane with an expression on her face like a deer in headlights.

"You said it again." Maura said meekly. "I wasn't sure you would." Jane looked at her strangely, and then it dawned on her. She crossed the room in two seconds, and in a minute was holding Maura's face in her hands.

"Don't, not even for a second, doubt that I love you Maura." She said intensely, soft brown eyes locking on to Maura's watery green. She pulled the Medical Examiner's face gently towards her, and their lips met in a soft kiss. She leaned back, and smiled at Maura's expression. Her eyes were still closed, as if she were savoring the feeling.

"You go to the car and get that stupid dress. I have to take a shower."

The car ride was quiet, but not unpleasant. They came to the restaurant in a sleek Mercedes that belonged to Maura, and Jane resisted the urge to say anything about how expensive an unnecessary it was. She wanted Maura to have this moment, because she was well aware that their jobs rarely let them feel so glamourous. Jane fidgeted in her seat. Her LBD (Little Black Dress), as Maura called it, was riding up her thighs.

They walked in, and were quickly guided to their table, which was at the front of the restaurant, in clear view of the windows the lined the front of the building.

"Oh nice," Jane said as she sat in the cushioned seat. "I don't usually sit at the front of nice restaurants like this." Maura nodded.

"Sitting at the front of an expensive restaurant is an indication of status. If you're dressed attractively, they will sit you by the windows or the front door, on display to anyone who thinks to come to the restaurant.

"You're not really supposed to tell me that." Jane said, embarrassed. Maura opened her mouth, and then closed it, like a fish.

"Sorry." She said abashed. Jane started,

"Maura, this is nice and everything, but I have a feeling you have something you need to say." Maura sat up in her chair a little straighter, and took Jane's hands in her own.

"Jane," Maura said in a serious tone, "I want to start a relationship with you." Jane sat back, looking at Maura with surprise.

"Aren't we in one already?" She replied with a cynical edge to her voice. Maura was a little caught off guard by Jane's candidness.

"Well... yes, but I thought maybe it should be agreed upon between the both of us. Given some finality." Jane rolled her eyes and smiled at Maura.

"If it makes you feel better Maura, yes, we are in a relationship." Maura didn't catch Jane's tone and made a little excited squeak, leaning over the table to kiss Jane on the lips before she had any time to deflect it.

"Maura!" Jane admonished, "Not in front of all our special new friends!" The sarcasm was laid on pretty thick that time. Maura just smiled drunkenly in reply. She grabbed her expensive champagne (which her ordering made sense now when Jane thought about it), and held it out.

"A toast," Maura said happily, "to new love." Jane shrunk in her seat at the looks they were getting, and quickly tapped her glass against Maura's. Maura hummed happily, drinking hearty swigs of her champagne with unrestrained happiness. Jane couldn't help but smile despite herself. She was a little excited too.

When they got back to Jane's apartment, Maura was a little more than tipsy. Jane laughed as Maura kicked off her heels in the elevator, saying they were uncomfortable and that she was too drunk to care about "possible infectious bacteria". As they got to the door, Maura pushed Jane against it, her hot breath on Jane's neck. Jane smiled lazily at Maura's half lidded eyes.

"You are very, _very_ attractive." Maura slurred in between butterfly kissed on Jane's neck.

"Why thank you, Maura." Jane chuckled in reply. The golden haired woman looked up at her, eyes searching for sincerity.

"You're welcome." She said with a sheepish smile. Jane turned to unlock the door, and they both sort of tumbled through. For Jane, it was exhaustion-for her companion, it was an entire bottle of Moet and Chandon. Both giggling, they fell upon the couch in a tangle of limbs, and Jane felt tingles of warmth run through her as she reached up to push a couple tendrils of loose hair out of her _girlfriend's _face. They both looked at each other, love reflecting in each other's eyes. It was Jane who leaned forward to take Maura's lips in hers, and Maura was more than happy to comply. Jane leaned back.

"You taste like champagne." She said with a smile.

"Is it good?" Maura replied with a drunken whisper.

"Mmmhmm." Jane nods. Maura leaned back to straddle Jane on the couch, dress inching up to reveal the thigh high stockings she's wearing underneath. Jane shivered and ran her hands up Maura's legs. Maura closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her pupils almost made the green of her irises disappear.

"Are you sure?" Jane asked softly, "You're a little drunk." Maura laid her hands on Jane's stomach, and began pushing the fabric of her expensive dress up from Jane's hips.

"Very sure." Maura replied with an exhale. She grabbed Jane by the shoulders, and lifted her up, unzipping the dress before pushing it off Jane's body. Jane lay bare breasted beneath her, her chest rising and falling with short heated breaths of arousal. Maura wastes no time in shimmying out of her clothes, long arms reaching back to unzip the dress herself. Jane gasped at the fact that under her dress, Maura only wore those thigh high stockings. Maura watched her reaction, and smiled a cheshire grin before leaning forward and taking a taut nipple in her mouth. Jane's hands reached up and found the back of Maura's head, her eyes wide and wild but seeing nothing.

Later, as they lay in the after glow, Maura laid her head on Jane's upper torso, rapidly falling asleep as Jane ran her fingers through her hair. Jane felt the tiredness tug at her eyes, and slowly fell asleep despite her best efforts not to. That night she didn't dream.


	4. Break When Needed

Jane woke when the sun gleaming in from her windows hit her face, streaking her face with light. She groaned, rubbing her eyes tiredly before looking down at the woman sleeping soundly atop her. She gently reached over and shook her shoulder a couple times, to wake her.

"Ugh," Maura moaned before opening her blurry eyes. She quickly sat up as soon as she realized who she was on top of. She quickly rubbed her temples. "It appears I have a hang over." Jane smiled toothily before sitting up on the couch.

"Good morning to you too. Do you remember last night?" Jane said the last words with a bit of worry in her eyes. Maura simply smiled in reply. Jane breathed out the air she was holding in-there were no regrets on either side, which relieved her immensely. "That was some dinner." she continued. Maura stood, raising her arms as she yawned theatrically.

"You make for a surprisingly comfortable bed, Jane." Maura remarked with a telltale glint in her eye. From the couch Jane looked around the apartment. In crumpled piles lay expensive dresses and expensive shoes, strewn all over the floor. Jane let out a quick laugh, and fell back onto the couch. Maura quickly pulled out an over night bag, and began taking out clothes and a toothbrush.

"Where'd you get that from?" Jane inquired, confused.

"Oh this?" Maura asked, lifting up the bag, "I stowed this here the last time I stayed over-I figured it would come in handy." Jane looked at her dumbfounded.

"The last time you were here?" Jane asked, "So you planned this." She had an incredulous look on her face. Maura nodded with a smile.

"A good girl is always prepared." She replied haughtily. Jane laughed, and took her feet off the couch, sitting upright. She pointed her finger accusingly at Maura.

"You," she said, "are FAR from good." Maura giggled, and disappeared into the bathroom. Jane sighed as she looked about the apartment, grabbed her panties which lay precariously on the edge of the coffee table, and put them on. Topless, she began to pick up the rest of the clothes that had been carelessly tossed on the floor the night before. Outside the window the Saturday sun continued to shine.

Stephen was nervous. He paced around his spotless apartment, running his hands through his dirty blonde hair. He had acted impulsively, killed a little girl who lived far too close to him. He knew the police well-the neighborhood would be searched for clues, people would be questioned, doors would be knocked on. He had been careless, and now time was ticking down until he would be found. Stephen screamed, and punched a dent in his refrigerator. He looked down at his hand as it quickly began to bruise. In his rage, he felt nothing.

"They're going to find me," He began to mutter to himself in a mantra, "It's all going to be over!"

The next Monday neither Maura nor Jane tried to pretend they hadn't come to work together. Jane balked at the idea of letting Maura hold her hand, but teary eyes quickly changed her mind. As they walked from the parking lot to the front door, Jane unthinkingly tried to let go of Maura's hand. However, Maura gripped Jane's hand in a vice, looking at Jane with a facial expression full of steely resolve, and with gritted teeth, they walked into the Precinct linked to one another in a statement that was much louder than words and travelled twice as fast as gossip. When they came to where they parted paths, Maura quickly leaned over and kissed Jane sweetly on the cheek before letting go. Jane tried to be embarassed, but her heart thumped in her chest too loudly for her to even feel it. She walked into the a room full of police officers, her face red with anxiousness.

"You look happy," Frost offered, smiling. Jane coughed into her hand, and tried to hide her emotions.

"Any new developments on my case?" Frost's face dropped quickly, and he shared what he knew.

"Identified the body of the second victim. A girl by the name of Stacy O'Neal." Jane winced at the name, because it made the gruesome murder all the more real in her mind. Without a name the little girl was a body-with a name she had a family, and parents that she had to deliver horrible news to.

"The first?" She asked doubtfully.

"Still unidentified." He said, face set in a frown. Jane closed her eyes.

"Christ." She said under her breath. Korsak walked up, handing both Jane and Frost a cup of lukewarm coffee.

"Maura said she wants a word." Korsak muttered to Jane discreetly. Jane rolled her eyes, and didn't bother to beat around the bush any longer. "So I guess Frost has caught you up, huh?" She stated, exasperated. Korsak looked at her, blinking a few times.

"I don't trust second hand information. I like to hear it from the source itself." He stated plainly, with a thin line set to his lips. "But for the record, it's very good news." Jane laughed, and pat him on the shoulder. Frost laughed too, but Jane stuck her finger at him.

"Shut up," she said jokingly, "Ya damn gossip queen."

When Jane found Maura in the Medical Examiner's office, she had the examining table's lights set on the young victim's neck. Holding a pair of tweezers, her face held an expression of deep concentration; so deep she didn't hear Jane walk in. Jane coughed, politely.

"Oh." Maura said looking up, "You're just in time. Take a look at this." She held up a single blue fiber at the end of the tweezers she was holding. Jane walked up to take a closer look.

"Looks like nylon." Jane remarked, fascinated. "Did you extract that from the victim's body?" Maura nodded in reply, taking it's tiny thread and putting it carefully into an evidence container.

"I'm taking this to forensics in a minute. It appears that perhaps the ligature was made out of this same blue fiber." Jane blinked a few times.

"You mean the nylon rope." She said sarcastically.

"Maybe. We'll have to test it to determine what exactly it is." Jane huffed and rolled her eyes. Her eyes lit up at a sudden thought.

"So is there any way we can get DNA evidence from it?" Jane asked hopefully.

"I doubt it," Maura countered, "It doesn't match his character profile." Jane lifted her hands up indicating for Maura to slow down.

"Woah woah, there's a profile for him now?" She said, puzzled.

"Well..." Maura paused, thinking. "Not exactly. I just made a few assumptions." Jane laughed suddenly, which slightly startled Maura.

"Maura Isles, making assumptions? That's new." Maura sighed, and continued.

"I'm thinking the murder was in his 20's, caucasian-perhaps from an educated background." She stated, walking toward her supply drawer to put away the sample.

"So basically, anybody." Jane said with a sigh. Maura was unaffected.

"Not just anybody. Someone with a degree; perhaps an analytical thinker. He was careful who he selected, the victims are several miles apart." Jane looked at Maura, her eyes giving away the fact that she was thinking.

"Did he know the victims?" Maura shook her head.

"No. I mean, that's just my guess." Jane corrected her.

"Your guess is more than we had thirty minutes ago. I'll go tell Frost what you found; maybe we can trace that nylon back to something that will give us an indication where he got it from."


	5. Crashing Down To Earth

"So what you're telling me, Frost, is that we have a better chance trying to shoot a fish in the ocean with a 9mm than finding whoever bought that rope." Jane said sarcastically, literally at wit's end. Frost smiled unhappily as he once again looked over the list of hundreds of places in the Boston area that carried that type of nylon rope.

"Pretty much, yeah." He replied. Jane threw her arms up in the air in exasperation.

"I was hinging everything on that!" She yelled to no one. Frost flinched, and started thinking.

"What about the neighborhoods the girls were found?" He said suddenly, already clicking and typing into computer field search boxes as he spoke. "If we triangulate the areas we think the girls might have been taken from, maybe we can find a local store in that area, and then from there we can scope to see if he lives near there." Jane looked at him typing, interested.

"That's better than nothing," she mumbled. "But he probably paid with cash." Frost looked up at her for a split second before quickly entering data into a program. The map quickly illuminated on the flat screen, showing two large circles at pin points where the bodies were found. Where the two circles intersected, an up cropping of five hardware stores showed up. He pointed to the screen.

"There we go." The search area was massive, and completely a guess, but it was better than what they had to start with, which was nothing.

"Are you sure he'll be in that area?" Jane asked, knowing the answer.

"Nope." Frost's brow knitted, and he shrugged.

"Print that out. We're going hunting." Jane said with a sigh. She looked at her watch. "I gotta make a call."

Stacie's parents wore no facial expression. Jane assumed they were simply in shock at discovering everything so fast-Jane didn't even have the time to call them before they had been questioned by the local news. There was a flurry of media surrounding the murder (the first body wasn't identified and so boston p.d. was keeping it under wraps), and now everyone wanted to know who was behind it. Mr. O'Neal's face was worn and tired, aged with the knowledge of what had been done to his daughter. Jane had told them the case was irregular, that he hadn't molested the children, just murdered them.

"Did she struggle?" Mrs. O'Neal asked, eyes barely holding in tears. Jane tried to decide if lying would be appropriate. She decided against it-she was sure there'd be an interviewer who'd say something tactless.

"Most likely, she struggled for a few minutes, before the ligature cut off the blood supply to the brain and she passed out." She said carefully, trying to keep her eyes on their foreheads, and not on their sad eyes. If she saw the pain that was in them, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to stay professional. She didn't want to cause them any more suffering than they were already going through.

"I'm so sorry for your loss." She said after a moment, putting her hands over Mrs. O'Neal's. Her phone rang-Frost. She told them apologetically that she had to get this, and walked out of the office.

"Rizzoli." she answered.

"We identified the first victim." Frost said morosely, "They went to the same school but lived 10 miles apart." Jane quickly snapped to attention.

"I'll be there in a minute." She replied with a rush. She closed the phone, and walked back in the office.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to leave. If you have any more questions, or you just need someone to talk to, here's my card." She handed her a card with her name printed on it in glossy black letters. Mr. O'Neal took it with a shaky hand.

"Thank you." He said quietly.

Jane looked at a photo of a young girl smiling back at her. She closed her eyes, and then closed the year book.

"How did you find this?" She asked, impressed.. Frost looked at her with a proud expression on his face.

"I went looking for any information on where she lived, looking to see if there was a pattern, and I saw the a familiar face on the same year book page as Stacie. Molly Peterson. It just clicked." Jane rubbed her eyes, before standing and patting Frost on the back.

"Things are closing in on this guy, I can feel it." Frost said with conviction. Jane just smiled tiredly.

When Jane unlocked the door, Maura was waiting silently on the couch. Jane almost jumped, but then remember she had given her the key to her apartment in case of emergencies.

"Hey, Maura." She said, putting her keys on the counter before heading to the fridge for a beer. Maura stood, smiling.

"So I heard you guys have found some things about the case-a connection. That's good news." She said, her eyes searching Jane's for something amiss.

"It is." Jane said quietly, twisting off the cap to her imported beer.

"Is there something wrong?" Maura asked, her eyes lit with concern.

"Nah." Jane replied before taking a swig, "Things are just getting to me, is all." Maura put her hands on her shoulder, before gently taking the beer out of Jane's hand. Jane almost argued, but soon her mouth was covered with Maura's. Jane's arms easily snaked around Maura's waist, pulling her to her as their tongues languidly brushed each other. Maura leaned back, and smiled gently.

"I thought you might want a distraction." She said softly. Jane leaned forward and took Maura's lower lip in hers.

"You thought right." She said against her lips. As they began to kiss again, this time quicker and more passionately, Maura began to back track, heading toward the bedroom. She turned and took Jane's hand and then began to walk, Jane right behind. When she closed the door, Jane was already working off her clothes. Maura smiled at her lovingly, and did the same. Soon they were together, touching and caressing smooth feminine flesh. Jane sighed at the familiar comfort of Maura's body, running her fingers up and down the curves at her sides. Maura laid there, feeling her touches, and closed her eyes in pleasure. Jane leaned forward and kissed her eye lids, before slowly inching down her body, ready to show her the love she felt. Butterfly kisses down from her collarbone, to her breasts, to her stomach, and down to the apex of her thighs.

She blew at the soft flesh, and Maura rose on the bed, before Jane met Maura's tender skin with her mouth. She licked and sucked, tasting all of her, and hummed in pleasure at how Maura gasped and moaned in reply. Maura shook with ecstasy, thighs tightening as she reached climax with a crash. Jane nipped and searched her folds, before pushing two fingers in and thrusting, with a bold rhythm, against her upper wall. Maura began keening aloud, her breasts shaking in tandem with her body's vibration, and Jane looked up, locking eyes onto Maura's, which were quickly going back in her head. Jane took comfort in the pleasure she was giving her, content to be able to make someone happy-even if it was just for the slightest of moments. Maura soon came again, with a full body shudder, and Jane gently laid her back on the bed.

Jane's head laid on the pillow next to Maura, who leaned over and kissed Jane. The evidence of sex was on Jane's chin, and the blonde quickly licked it off, tenderly placing kisses on her chin and neck. Her hands began to snake down Jane's nude form, but Jane took her hands and stopped her.

"Today, just let it be you, okay?" She said softly. Maura's face showed confusion, and Jane leaned and kissed the frown off her face.

"I just want you to be happy." Maura said slowly. Jane smiled tenderly.

"I know. Just not tonight." Maura laid her head back on the pillow, and stared up at the ceiling. No matter how hard she tried, she could never seem to figure Jane out.


	6. 6 Months Later

6 Months Later...

"I'm not releasing you for duty again, Jane. Not yet." The therapist's face was emotionless. Jane sat back in her chair and licked her lips. She wanted to punch him-slam his face into his ornate desk and march right out of that room and back into her car, but she just sat there. Her shoulder's slumped, possibly with the knowledge that she was not only damaged, but hopeless.

"Okay." She croaked, internally she felt sick. "Can we end this session early? I don't feel very good." The doctor wrote something quickly in his notes, before nodding his head and letting her leave.

Jane walked to her car, close to tears. It had been that one case, the one that might end her career. After 6 months they had still struggled to find the murderer. He had stopped killing after taking the life of a young boy who was alone at the park. Every lead came to a dead end, and despite the progress they had made, it was all for naught. Jane felt vibration in her pocket but didn't check it. She knew it was Maura again, and she knew she couldn't answer it. She felt like a cracked piece of China. Useless and valueless.

...

Maura looked at her phone, her eyes unfocused. It had become a compulsion to call her, like a moth always trying to fly to the flame, even when it burned her. Jane wouldn't let anyone talk to her; not even her own mother. Maura felt a single hot tear run down her cheek, but coughed, and continued to work on the body. It was a suicide, a blonde handsome man in his twenties. The police found suspicious evidence in his apartment, and thought maybe the suicide was a murder. Maura knew it wasn't. The man had shot himself through the chin up through the top of the skull. It was suicide, but Frost seemed to think he was significant to Jane's Case. Maura took a deep and shaky breath at that thought. Jane's Case was what they called it around the precinct. The one that broke her.

"Who are you?" She asked the body. He didn't reply. Maura closed her eyes before signing off the paper work.

...

Jane walked to her apartment, her sunglasses obscuring her eyes, and she hoped her thoughts as well. Joe Friday welcomed her at the door, jumping in excitement at seeing her come home. Jane leaned down and scratched his ears, happy to see at least one creature that didn't judge her or know her failures. When she looked up, she almost jumped out of her skin. Her mother sat on the couch, staring at her.

"Jesus, Ma!" She screamed.

"Do you remember Jason? He's a lock-smith now." Her lips were set in a hard line, brow furrowed and serious.

"Great." Jane said, exhausted. "I guess I should've known I couldn't keep you out for long." Her mother stood, walking to the kitchen.

"I threw away your liquor. You had quite a collection." Her mother's voice sounded soft and shaky; obviously she couldn't bear to see Jane so defeated. Jane winced at the thought.

"Look Ma, if you think you can just give me a pep talk or something..." Jane started, but her mother interrupted.

"Your father left me." She said quietly. Jane looked up, surprise written on her face. She quickly dropped the expression, and simply sighed.

"I'm sorry." She said, ashamed. Her mother quickly realized that Jane was taking the blame.

"No, it had nothing to do with you. There's a woman out there, somewhere." Jane looked away, her eyes couldn't meet her mother's sad expression. Her mother continued. "I'm going to live with you. The house has been put up for sale and I've got the boxes in your spare room." Jane didn't have the energy to object.

"So you threw away all the liquor." She said dead pan. "I'm going to my room." So she did.

...

"I think you might want to know what we found in his apartment, Maura."

Maura looked at Frost, watched how earnest his face was at that moment.

"Yes?" She replied. Frost bit his lip, not wanting to upset her.

"We think this guy was the person who murdered-um, the murderer of those children."

"Jane's Case." Maura corrected. Frost coughed, nervous.

"Yes. We found evidence of a few pieces of jewelry from one of the girls, and he worked on and off for the district of their schools as a janitor. History of mental problems. I think he's the guy. Or was, anyway." Frost looked relieved to finally say it out loud. Maura only stared at him.

"You think Jane's coming back, don't you." She said quietly, her eyes dead, and without the flash they used to have when she said her name.

"I... well..." Frost stuttered.

"Because she's not. She wouldn't be satisfied unless it was her who put the bullet into this man's head." Maura stared into Frost's earnest face, hard. Frost looked down, embarrassed.

"I'm gonna..." He started, and then walked out the door. Maura sighed, placing her hands on the examination table. She felt the tears, but this time, didn't bother to stop them.

...

When Jane walked back in the house from her almost nightly trip to the bar, what she saw sitting on her couch stopped her stone cold in the door way.

"Hello, Jane." Maura said, poker faced. Jane opened her mouth, but wisely closed it again.

"Maura." She said quietly. "I guess Ma let you in." Maura looked away.

"You guessed right." She said in reply.

"I'm sorry I haven't answered your calls. I've been-"

"I didn't come to talk about that, Jane. I have some news on the case." Jane simply stared, wordless. Maura continued.

"A man named Stephen Wright committed those murders. He shot himself in the head." Maura didn't mince words. Jane put her hands on her face. She didn't know if she felt relief or disappointment. It left a bitter taste in her mouth all the same.

"I guess that's a relief." She admitted. Maura looked at her, her eyes sad, but forgiving.

"You left me out, Jane." Maura said shakily. "You closed the door in my face and left me in the cold." Jane looked down at her shoes; her chest felt heavy from the guilt.

"All I can say is I'm sorry." Jane whispered, defeated. Maura stood, and walked toward Jane, who had tears in her eyes, threatening to spill.

"I know. I'm sorry too." Maura said sadly. Slowly, she walked to Jane, embracing her in a tight hug. Jane finally let go and weeped.

From a door slightly ajar, Jane's mother watched silently.

...

"It must feel like a relief to know that he's gone." Dr. Creek suggested. Jane looked up at him, at the frown wrinkles on the man's face, and nodded. The doctor clicked his tongue before looking over a few papers. Jane sat in the uncomfortable silence, watching him as he read from a piece of paper in his hands. Then, just as Jane was about to look away, the man took out his pen and signed his name.

"You are cleared to go back to work." The man said with a grunt. He hesitantly handed over the form to Jane. She took it slowly, still reeling from the surprise.

"Thank you." She said, and swallowed back her emotion. The man looked disinterested.

"I don't want to regret this, understand?" The man said plainly. Jane nodded, then rose from her chair. She hesitated before walking out, but after a moment, opened the door and walked down the corridor toward the building's exit. When she got to the car, she tried not to smile. Maura sat in the front seat, watching her closely. Jane showed Maura the sheet in her hand, and Maura visibly cheered up, knowing exactly what it was.

Jane hopped into the driver's seat, beaming a smile that she hadn't shown anyone in half a year.

"The bastard finally cleared me." Jane said happily. Maura's smile graced her face, and she reached a hand out to Jane's, holding it gently. Jane pursed her lips and turned to Maura.

"I want you to know I love you, and I never stopped." Jane said, her face pensive as she looked out the windshield of her parked car. Maura's face didn't betray her emotions, she just smiled and said, "I know."

...

To Jane, walking through the hallways of the precinct felt different now. It seemed that anxiety seeped through the walls, and she tried very hard not to let it find its place inside her head. As she walked through the double doors leading to her desk, she saw Kusack and Frost standing in front of it with broad smiles on their faces, and a little make shift banner saying "Welcome Back Jane" taped to the front of her desk.

"Thanks guys." Jane said with a soft smile.

"We're just glad you're back, Jane." Kusack said as he patted her on the back.

"Did Maura tell you?" Frost asked hesitantly. Jane nodded silently, still not in the mood to talk about the case or the man who committed the crimes. Kusack elbowed Frost in the ribs.

"Ow!" The young detective cried, before holding up his hands and going to his desk. _Kusack's still looking out for me, even now. _Jane thought to herself. When she finally sat in her chair, Frost placed a blue folder on Jane's desk.

"This just came in. Bank robbery gone wrong." Frost said with a grim look on his face. Jane took the folder and opened it. Inside were crime scene photos of the victim, a young woman in her 30's. Someone had shot right through her with a 12 gauge shot gun. Jane immediately noticed something odd.

"The bullet was buckshot." She murmured to herself.

"What?" Frost asked, interested.

"It's hunting ammunition. See the small black holes surrounding the wound?" Jane pointed to the tiny holes that scattered all over the torso. Frost nodded silently.

"Why would someone use hunting ammunition for a robbery?" Frost asked as he grabbed another photo.

"The man was desperate maybe; used rounds he already had around." Jane tapped her finger on the photo. "We're going to look for a hunter who lives near that bank. Frost, can you dig up some hunting license records? Look for someone who lives near the vicinity of the bank." Jane ran her hand through her hair as Frost began typing on his computer. Jane was back.


End file.
